Monthly Archives: April 2013

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http://www.ebay.com/itm/271199111185
This vintage coat was made by the Buck Skein company. They advertised these coats with the “Thermalized Weather Control Lining” from 1955 to 1959, and this coat likely dates within that time frame. This striped blanket material was a high end fabric of the time, and generally sold for significantly more than other variants in the same cut. The buttonholes wore out and were re-stitched and the label has been worn down. Sometimes wear comes from abuse, but these are signs of a coat that was worn daily for decades, and loved. That kind of wear seems fairly typical for coats like this, which were truly investments when new, yet were casual, outdoorsy garments. This one is a single breasted style, with a four button front. It has double button belts at the wrists and large patch cargo pockets. The lining is quilted.

This jacket is a high end reproduction of the “Grizzly” style jacket, popular in the mid 1930s. It was made by Toyo Enterprises, who make jackets for Buzz Rickson, Sugar Cane and Style Eyes. Accurate down to the last detail, it bears a reproduction of a 1930s “Lakeland” hang tag. It has “laskinlamb” mouton panels on the front and back, with a matching mouton collar. The sleeves and trim are horsehide leather. The idea of these jackets was to put the insulation on the outside so that the wearer could have an unobstructed range of motion. They were promoted heavily in an athletic context, promoted by football players, that sort of thing. This jacket is as near as you can get to walking into a store in 1934 and buying one. It has an early Hookless grommet zipper, and dot snap. The original tags are still on the jacket and include a nice reproduction piece to accompany that zip. The front of the jacket is belted, as are the sleeves. There is a snap chinstrap to cinch it up at the neck. Inside, the body has a plaid lining, while the sleeves are lined in brown twill. There are wool storm cuffs to keep the breeze from blowing up the sleeves.

This vintage leather jacket was made in the 1930s. It is a classic utility jacket style, with handwarmer pockets, a zip breast pocket, and a pleated half-belt back. At the ends of the half-belt are adjuster belts. The jacket is made of what feels like horsehide, though with the labels missing, it is impossible to be positive. The leather has a wonderful patina and grain. In the 1950s, this jacket received a new brass Talon Zipper and a reline. The replacement lining is an alpaca pile, and is also sewn to the top of the collar. The sleeves are nylon, with home-knitted cuffs. Unfortunately, there is a funky tooth near the bottom of the zipper, so while you can engage it, you can’t get it zipped up very far. That should be replaced, probably with one more era-appropriate.

This vintage jacket was made postwar, probably in the late 1940s , but is nearly identical to the pattern of leather utility jackets popular prior to the war. It has slash handwarmer pockets and a diagonal breast pocket. There is a half-belt with side adjuster belts, and bi-swing shoulders. In front is a brass talon zipper, which still works well. The jacket is made of a herringbone stripe blue denim. It’s interesting that the panel underneath the halfbelt has the pattern running 90 degrees to the rest of the jacket, providing visual contrast.

These Lakeland Wagonwheel Jackinac jackets were advertised heavily in 1947 and 1948, and appeared in Life Magazine. It is a twist on the classic red and black Hudson’s Bay point blanket style. It has a five button front, though the bottom button is missing. There is a zipped breast pocket, and shirt style cuffs. The jacket is unlined and has taped seams. There is a nice recurrence of the stripe pattern on the underside of the collar.

Tom Mix, the king of the cowboys, was a fan of Hudson’s Bay blanket coats for decades of his career, wearing his in a variety of films as well as off the set.
The first picture I can find of him wearing one is in 1918, in the film Ace High. He seems to have worn the style for the next 20 years until his death. During this time, there were three coats that I have been able to track down. The first and the second one are the same pattern, with subtle differences in the way the stripes line up distinguishing the two. In particular, the stripes on the shoulder yoke are a giveaway. The earlier version had a dark stripe centered with the pockets, while the second version had a white stripe. There were also differences in the color of the belt loops, and how the stripes lined up with the pockets.
The second version was a departure. The overall cut is somewhat simplified, without the large bellows pockets. Notch lapels replace the shirt style collar of the first two. The edges are trimmed with sections of dark stripe, and a dark zig-zag stripe is sewn to the chest, an exaggerated version of the western scalloped yoke. I particularly like the multi-tonal arrows running down the sleeves. Like other elements on this coat, these are cut out from the different color fields of a blanket and applied to the coat, creating the unique pattern.

c.1926 – Though the same cut as the c.1918 version, the stripes line up noticeably differently, particularly in the shoulder yoke. On the earlier version, the dark stripe lines up with the center of the pocket. On this version, it is the light background stripe which is centered. This version appears to have a buckle on the belt instead of buttons. The stripes of the body line up differently with the pockets.

1928 – A different blanket coat comes onto the scene.

1930 – Nash Car ad. The old style coat is still in rotation, but this appears to be the second version of it. In this picture, another difference from the first version of the coat is visible- the belt loops. On the earlier version in the same cut, the belt loops are made of the white portion of the blanket. In this version, they are part of a dark stripe.